Pedal Cure 4 FightMND – 2020
13th March, 2020
There was going to be a lot of climbing later in the day. Over the last five days, I’ve been cycling more than 100 km – two of them over 130 km. Already weary from a long week, and the early morning starts were beginning to get to me, the finishing line at Windy Park was almost in sight – just today and tomorrow left. Hannah and I left at our usual time of around 07:00. But, after a week on the road, it was now before dawn. Today it just felt like cycling with not much else to do. We were simply just cranking out the kilometres.
The first couple of hours to Seymour felt fine. Just a little lumpy. After Seymour, things just started getting tough. We were making good time, as we hadn’t been overtaken yet. However, soon enough, the steep parts started. Steep ascents followed by some nice descents. We were finally overtaken just outside of Pyalong. The hill was obviously steep enough for some of the experienced riders to have to get off and push. That didn’t make me feel so bad after all. We reached Pyalong for a morning break. I was totally stuffed.
After a short stop, it was time to get moving again. I didn’t get very far. One small hill, just around the corner, and my legs just didn’t want to pedal any longer. I resigned in defeat and hopped into one of the supporet vehicles. Hannah kept riding on, though, and we followed behind her. She made it all the way to Lancefield. We didn’t go to our camping spots right away. As we came down one of the streets, the pupils from St. Mary’s Primary School lined the road and applauded us all. We had our lunch break at the school, and put on a little presentation. The kids were so delighted!
The weather this evening was absolutely rubbish, with very high winds. We had dinner at the Lancefield Hotel, our last night together as a group. Hannah and I agreed that we would leave at around 06:30 tomorrow, and that I’d meet her at the pub, so we can be sure to reach Windy Hill along with everyone else. Tomorrow was going to be a big day. We’d also heard that Neale Daniher was not going to be able to join us at Windy Hill after all, due to precautions against Coronavirus, which had been in the news lately. There were some concerns that the function at Windy Hill may not even be able to go ahead.
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